Puzzle Piece
by laurzz
Summary: DannyLindsay post ep for 9x15. 'The puzzle that was her life was finally coming together.'


**A/N: Hi guys! Well, I actually really enjoyed the crossover. I don't know about you guys, but I enjoyed seeing Mac basically undermine everything he's every said and done to find someone he loves. Or maybe that's just the romantic in me. I will say however I am slightly nervous over the fact that we have two episodes left and well... yeah. We'll see at least. I guess this is what fanfiction is for! :p **

**Now it probably should be said now that I am not a mother and haven't really been in touch with anyone who has been pregnant for a long while so - this being said, I am using information solely from a website that seemed quite knowledgeable.. so if you know any different or I have written something that wouldn't work or doesn't even make sense - I tried. hahaha. I tried hard to make it seem believable, but I'm only a teacher (although most days I'm a doctor, mother, judge, entertainer... the list is endless - you get the point, surely) **

**Thank you all so much for the love and feedback from last post-ep. It was amazing and I am so glad you enjoyed it. Gigglesforcsi, I am going to reply to you as soon as I have posted this! :) **

**Hope you guys like this one, I've definitely never done anything like this before, so let's see how it goes. **

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_Lindsay, thank you for everything today. Couldn't have done it without you and Danny. Sorry I couldn't talk earlier... I will tell Christine though, thanks. _  
_Hope your appointment at the doctors went well yesterday; sorry I didn't ask before. Let me know what they said. See you tomorrow. Mac._

Taking a deep breath in and closing her eyes, Lindsay felt herself being filled with relief at the words staring up from her iPhone. Christine was safe. _Thank god_. The past two days had been hell on earth. She'd been so pleased when Mac had said that he was going to Vegas to surprise Christine. The little romantic in her was overjoyed with the new Mac that she saw. There had been a time, not so long ago where Mac hadn't taken a vacation day in years. Now... well, now he was off planning surprise Celine Dion concerts in Vegas. As much as she had liked Peyton as a colleague, she hadn't agreed with the way that she had left things with Mac. Mac had been heartbroken... but now she understood that everything had happened for a reason. Peyton had broken Mac's heart so that Christine could fix it. Claire, although Lindsay had never met her, had easily been the love of Mac's life, but watching him with Christine now made her wonder whether he'd found a new love of his life. And for that, she was glad. Mac deserved every happiness that Christine brought to his life.

She cast a glance over to Danny and smiled softly._ Just like the happiness he brings me,_ she thought. "Hey," as he looked across to her from the pamphlet he was holding and offered her a smile, she cleared her throat. "I love you."

"I love you too," he smiled as he leaned forward in the plastic seat. "Who's that?"

"Mac," Lindsay smiled, waving her phone in Danny's direction. "Saying thanks for everything."

Danny smiled. "I'm just glad she's okay."

Lindsay nodded. "He also asked about my appointment."

"Did you tell him?"

"Nah," Lindsay shook her head. "He doesn't need to know."

"I think he'd like to know though, Linds." Danny raised his brow.

"Maybe so." Lindsay shrugged. "But the way I'm looking at it is, he needed us there. At least he remembered it was yesterday."

_"Supposed_ to be yesterday." Danny corrected. "I'm sure he would have understood; you didn't need to cancel and reschedule."

"Danny," Lindsay rolled her eyes. "We couldn't exactly take off for two hours while everyone else carries on looking for Christine, could we?"

"No, I guess not," he smiled as he reached to where Lindsay was sat and took her hand, pressing a kiss to the soft skin. "Which is why I love you as much as I do... always thinkin' about others." He paused. "Now, I know you don't wanna get into it... but I just wanna say that next time you disappear with Lovato and Jo to go and do a search warrant, would you at least wear a damn vest?"

"I knew Flack would tell you that." Lindsay rolled her eyes. "I ask him to do one thing..." She smirked. "Couldn't keep his mouth shut, could he?"

"Yeah, well that one thing you asked counteracted the one thing I've asked."

"And what is it that you've asked?" Lindsay questioned with raised eyebrows.

"For him to keep his eye on you when I'm not there... which may include Lovato aswell now." Danny said quietly. "I just... he cares and I care and we wanna keep you safe, you know?"

"I know," she rolled her eyes. "But Danny, I'm not going to break. I managed it last time. Don't wrap me in cotton wool just yet."

"I know," he sighed. "I know... I just don't want anything to happen to you. And with the people we were dealing with today I didn't wanna take no chances, you know?"

"I know," she nodded. "And even though I won't always say this, I do appreciate you two knuckleheads looking out for me. It makes me feel safe. Lovato too."

"Good," Danny smiled as he settled back in his plastic chair. He rolled the sleeve of his sweater up and sighed as he looked at the time, "Where the hell is the Doctor?"

"Danny, she's squeezing us in as it is, just be patient."

"Yeah, well..." he sighed, "I just think that she could be a little more-"

He stopped abruptly as the door opened and Lindsay's doctor appeared in the doorway. "Hi Lindsay, Danny; sorry to keep you both waiting."

"No it's fine," Danny shook his head, "We understand that you must be busy; we appreciate you fittin' us in."

If Lindsay could have kicked him, she would have. Instead, she shot him a look and he bit his lip as he fought the smirk tugging at his lips.

"Well, I saw in the paper today about the kidnapping; if you could call it that. Is everyone okay?"

"Safe and sound," Lindsay smiled. "Sorry I had to cancel."

"No, not at all," Doctor Martinez shook her head in protest. "I managed to catch up on paperwork in the slot that you would have had. I haven't seen you since we confirmed the pregnancy and did blood work, correct?"

"Correct," Lindsay nodded and smiled excitedly at Danny as she adjusted herself on the examination chair. As they had perfected with her pregnancy with Lucy, Danny stood as she shuffled on the bed and positioned himself by her head, one hand running his thumb over her shoulder soothingly and the other holding her hand tightly.

"And how have you been feeling? I obviously took over as your Doctor after your first appointment so we only have notes as opposed to experience."

"I've been okay," Lindsay nodded. "Sickness isn't as bad this time; I really struggled with it when I was pregnant with Lucy. I've felt sick a few times; especially when I was first working out that I was pregnant, like I told you but other than that we've found ways to help me manage it. I've found that taking breaks at work and getting fresh air helps. I'm really tired a lot though. I don't remember being this tired before."

"You have a daughter now," Dr Martinez wiggled her eyebrows playfully. "You need to use a lot more energy constantly. Before you just had to focus on being pregnant; now though you have someone else at home waiting for Mommy."

"And that's just Danny." Lindsay quipped as she turned and flashed a smile in Danny's direction.

"How do you think she's doing, Dad?"

"Good," Danny smiled at Lindsay's doctor. "Like she said, she's tired a lot. She's getting lots of rest on her days off and after work. Eating well, keeping things down. Everything seems okay. She seems happy."

"Good; that's the most important part," Dr Martinez smiled. "Okay, so I'm just going to have a look here, so just sit back try to relax. Let's see what we can do here. We've dated you to be about ten to eleven weeks pregnant, correct?"

"It's probably about that," Lindsay looked towards Danny with a smile, the memory of their weekend quickly flooding back to her. "I'm sure that's what we decided on. I left the pregnancy notes at home."

"That's okay, I have everything here; it's just a copy for yourself really." Dr Martinez said as she concentrated on the monitor. "Have you thought about the nuchal translucency test at all?"

Lindsay looked towards Danny and nodded at him. "Yeah, we've decided against it. So long as you're happy that our baby is safe and healthy, we'd rather keep unnecessary scans and tests to a minimum."

"Of course," Dr Martinez nodded in understanding while making notes on Lindsay's file. "Okay from my calculations I would place the due date to be about October 12th."

"An October baby," Danny smiled. "That's good, they're both spread out from one another. Give us a chance to recover from Lucy's birthday in May... Linds goes crazy with presents."

"Just in the lead up to Christmas too," Dr Martinez smiled. "At least their birthday wish list will be easy enough; all the toy commercials for Christmas surface around that time."

"Great," Danny grimaced. "More reasons for her to spend my money." He mused, pressing a kiss to Lindsay's temple affectionately.

Doctor Martinez then turned her attention to the monitor and keyboard, adjusting her various assortment of equipment. She was zooming in, out, and then back in again. Lindsay squeezed Danny's hand tightly as they waited with baited breaths for some form of information from Dr Martinez. Instead of hearing her say a word though, a rhythmic beat sounded in the small examination room. "And... that's your baby's heartbeat."

Danny's jaw dropped and Lindsay's eyes filled with tears at the sound of the strong, healthy heartbeat in the confines of the small room. It was a whooshing sound, but it was the most beautiful sound they'd heard in a long time.

"Linds," Danny whispered as he pressed a kiss to her temple, leaving his lips lingering in her hair as he inhaled her scent and closed his eyes while the rhymthic beat filled the room.

"That's our baby's heartbeat," She finished his unspoken sentence.

"And just on the screen here, is your baby." She gestured to the grainy black and white image in the middle of Lindsay's uterus displayed on the screen in front of them. "I'll leave you for a few minutes."

She excused herself quietly as Lindsay stared at the screen. She hadn't really known what to expect with her first official Doctor's appointment. The last time she'd done this was a complete blur, full of mixed emotions. She'd been alone for her first appointment with Lucy and she'd been absolutely terrified. Hearing Lucy's steady heart beat had been quite a sobering moment and she'd gone to tell Danny of her pregnancy soon after... which meant that he'd missed this moment in Lucy's life. He'd made damn sure however that it had been the only moment he had missed in her life. She tore her eyes away from the image of her baby and her eyes locked on Danny. She hadn't noticed his thumb ceasing the soothing back and forth motion on her shoulder and he had now covered his eyes with his hand as he gripped to her hand like he had been previously. She reached up with her own free hand, and gently moved away the hand covering his eyes. What she saw sparked tears in her own eyes. The sounds of their baby's heartbeat and the image of their child on the screen in front of them had obviously a profound effect on Danny and had left him quite emotional. Silent tears were slipping down his cheeks as they listened to the rhythmic thumping within the room.

"Danny," she whispered tugging him down towards her and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "That's our baby's heartbeat."

He smiled and wiped his eyes as he closed the distance between them and pressed a long, lingering kiss to her lips. It had been an unexpected kiss and it had her stomach fluttering with butterflies. She could feel the excitement, passion and love in his kiss that made her realise just how much this moment meant to him.

"I'm sorry you missed this when I was pregnant with Lucy," she whispered as he rested her head against his after he tore his lips from her's. "You missed this the first time because... because..."

"Because I was a dick," he finished. "I didn't realise just how lucky I was. I'm sorry you didn't have anyone with you the first time you heard this," he said softly. "But I promised you things would be different, and look at things now... I hope you know how much I love you."

"I do," she whispered.

"You, me, Lucy and this baby." He said softly. "Our perfect little family." he said, turning his ear to the sounds of their child's heartbeat.

"It sounds strong." Lindsay spluttered as she felt the emotions overwhelming her a little. "That's good, right?"

"Very good," Danny nodded. "I'm not gonna lie though, I'm strugglin' to make out the baby on this picture. It's pretty grainy... and we work with some serious puzzles at work." He laughed. "I can't even see my own kid but I can work out a symbol from the middle of Africa or I can identify an exotic plant that's never been through US customs... not my kid though."

"Move it towards me, I'll show you," Lindsay said, sitting up and reaching towards the screen. She ran her finger across a small, peanut shaped image on the screen. "There he or she is; that's the baby."

"That?" Danny implored. "Well damn, I saw that." He glanced down at her stomach before glancing back at the screen. "Well, I guess it makes sense. Any bigger and you'd be showing." he smiled.

"My clothes are a little tighter," she laughed as a knock sounded at the door.

"It's only me," Dr Martinez's voice announced her return. "What do you think, Mom and Dad?"

"Amazing," Danny implored.

"We got a little emotional," Lindsay smiled in admittance.

"You'd be surprised of the couples that cry. It's quite overwhelming and exciting. I must say, congratulations," she smiled. "Your baby has quite the heartbeat. Very strong, sounds healthy. Based on my calculations too everything is developing as it should be; we're at the right size for the predicted conception dates. Things look very good."

"That's great," Danny smiled down at Lindsay whom was already staring up at him. "So just keep doin' what we're doin', right?"

"Exactly," Dr Martinez smiled. "Make sure you don't over-do it at work that you get at least eight hours of sleep a night. It's your job to make sure she takes regular breaks at work, Danny; and listen to your cravings, no matter how inconvenient they are."

"I remember from my pregnancy with Lucy," Lindsay smiled. "Although it feels strange from going to watching what you're eating for your New Year's resolution to eating at crazy times and all the time. I feel like all I do is eat."

"That's okay, if that's what you need, it's what you need. Listen to what your body is telling you. If you're tired, take a break; if you're hungry, eat. If you need to release endorphins; have sex. Just do what you need to make yourself comfortable, Lindsay. I'm sure Danny will help in whatever ways he can."

"You bet," Danny winked as he nudged Lindsay playfully at the mention of sex.

"That's what landed me here," Lindsay turned to her husband with a smirk on her face.

"Could we get a couple of those?" Danny asked as he watched Dr Martinez screen shot the image of their baby for printing, "We got some people that would want one."

"Of course," Dr Martinez smiled. "I'll go and get them. I'm very happy with how things are going so we will schedule another appointment for around a month's time. Everything will be ready for you once you're all dressed, Lindsay."

"Thank you for squeezing us in," Lindsay smiled as she shuffled on the examination table, ready to redress and head home. "I know it's late."

"It's not a problem," Dr Martinez smiled, "And once again; congratulations."

* * *

Inhaling softly, Lindsay took in the reassuring scent of her husband's shampoo. The trip to the Doctors office had left them quite emotional and excited. Although it had already sunk in that she was pregnant; things were beginning to seem more real. She glanced down and smiled at the sight of Danny asleep next to her. With the Doctor's orders of having sex and releasing endorphins, Danny and Lindsay had taken up her Doctor's advice and done a good job of releasing their endorphins. twice. Danny had promptly fallen asleep afterwards but he'd been quite restless in his sleep. He'd started on his side of the bed, but as the hour he'd been asleep for progressed, he'd ended up with his head on Lindsay's shoulder and his hand laying protectively over her stomach. Clearly, he was subconsciously unhappy with the distance between them on their bed.

She'd managed to retrieve her phone from her bedside table and replied to Mac's text message from earlier. She had however made sure the duvet cover was placed over her body as she did so. Although he'd never know... she knew, and while it really didn't make a difference what state of undress she was in when she replied to a text message... it just creeped her out; texting Mac with Danny draped over her with... nothing on.

She told him that the appointment had gone well, leaving out the fact that they'd just been to the appointment He'd be appreciative but angry that they'd cancelled their first appointment upon the news that Christine was missing. On a few occasions, Mac had sat down with them both and told them that he while he appreciated their loyalty and dedication he was unhappy with the sacrifices they made to their own personal lives for the lab. It was the nature of the job though and Lindsay couldn't have imagined herself laid on an examination table crying happy tears and listening to the sounds of her son or daughter's heartbeat with her husband by her side while Christine was being held hostage somewhere in the city while Mac was in the middle of a personal nightmare as he fought to find her. No, it had been much better going tonight, knowing that Christine was safe and unharmed; for the most part.

Hearing her child's heartbeat this evening had been a sobering yet, exciting moment for her and Danny. They had experienced a thousand new things in their life as a married couple but this was on a whole different level. It had been the first time either of them had heard their second child's heartbeat for the first time. And they'd done it at the same time. Lindsay had heard Lucy's heartbeat weeks before Danny had; and while at the time she'd been glad he hadn't been there for the appointment because she knew it had hurt him - almost as much as he'd hurt her, in reflection of those feelings, she could see that she had just been hurting and given the chance to turn back time... she would change time back so that Danny could have been there for that moment because it was something she would never forget.

But that was done, they had moved on from that bump in the road and Danny was quite possibly the best father she could have ever asked for, for Lucy.

She laid her hand over Danny's hand which was still protectively pressed against her stomach and she felt his muscles flex under her hand. She knew he was completely asleep by his light snoring in her ear and although sometimes it grated on her when she was tired, the soft, quiet sounds of his snores were endearing and just another thing on her long list of things she loved about him.

When she had first given birth to Lucy, she had vowed and declared: never again. But as the years had passed and she had watched Lucy grow, she realised that there was something missing from her life. There was another little space within her heart that needed filling. She hadn't realised it for a long while, but after taking Lucy to a park in Staten Island while Danny was fixing the roof for his parents, she realised exactly what it was that was missing. She'd sat on a bench watching Lucy play on the climbing frame and swings and her eyes had momentarily drifted to a small family sat on the opposite side of the park. They had a small girl, around Lucy's age - perhaps a year or two younger - and a newborn baby. The girl of Lucy's age was hovering by her parents' and paying careful attention to the new bundle in her own mother's arms... it was the face when the mother looked up that had struck Lindsay with realisation. The young mother had looked to her own daughter with the same look that Lindsay looked to Lucy with; absolute pure and utter adoration. The mother had then smiled softly at the father to her children before turning her face down to her newborn baby. Lindsay had seen the look in the eyes of the mother and realised that the feeling she had been confused with wasn't something missing from her life - it was just her needing to add something else. Lindsay could see the look of contentment and happiness on the young mother's face that told Lindsay everything she needed to know; she wasn't missing anything - it had always been right there in front of her. She just needed to finish off the puzzle she had been working on; her family had one last piece waiting to be placed onto the picture to make it complete. She had her Lucy, she had her Danny and now... she just needed to see who her last little puzzle piece was. And as her eyes fluttered shut, with her hand on top of Danny's she could feel that same contentment that she'd seen on that other mother's face. The puzzle that was her life was nearly, finally coming together.

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**Ta-da! Hope you guys liked it. I really enjoyed this one. it's quite a strong image of them at the end in my head, so I hope you guys have that image too because it is pretty adorable! ahha. anyway, I will leave that here for this week. if you have a spare moment, drop me a review and let me know what you thought. it would be most appreciated. Thanks for reading, loves! :) **


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